Christchurch to Mount Cook

Early Flight to Christchurch

We are up at 3:25am in our Auckland hotel and back to the airport for our 6:20am flight to Christchurch.

By 8:30am we have landed, collected our luggage and acquired our rental car. Today we are driving from Christchurch to Twizel with stops on the way. New Zealand drives on the left, as did Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia all courtesy of the British Empire.

The countryside feels like Ontario. As we get closer to Rakaia Gorge, the more it feels like Alberta’s Rockies.

Rakaia Gorge

We stop for a hike around the gorge. It is chilly out so I start off with a t-shirt, merino wool long sleeve t-shirt, hoodie and jacket.

It is supposed to be a half hour hike to the first lookout but it seems to take me twice as long due to the steepness and unevenness of the trail.

The river water is a brilliant aqua. Here is how the sign explains the water colour: “The beautiful blue colour of the water is formed by fine particles of rock, ground down by the glaciers, which remain suspended in the water instead of settling to the bottom of the river as it flows from the southern Alps. The rock flour reflects the sunlight giving the river it’s spectacular turquoise blue colour.”

Half way through the walk, I am so hot that I’ve stripped down to my t-shirt. It tends to be quite cool in the mornings and heats up to the mid twenties in the afternoon.

Fairlie and Burke’s Pass

After the hike we continue driving through rolling hills of sheep and cows. We stop in the town of Fairlie because we read that Fairlie Bakehouse is known for their pies. John and I suddenly get a craving for pie. It turns out to be meat pies. I have a salmon pie and it is delicious.

We grab car snacks from the grocery store and continue on to Burke’s Pass which is a historic ,picturesque, quirky town with a 1950s vibe. It is small but a fun short stop.

Lake Tekapo

We drive on to Lake Tekapo. The water of the lake is a turquoise and the mountains can be seen in the distance. Click here for a video of Lake Tekapo.

Lake Pukaki

Next stop is Lake Pukaki. The beautiful snow capped Mount Cook is at the end of the lake. Mount Cook is the tallest mountain in New Zealand (3,724 metres tall, 12,218 ft) . It reminds us a bit of Lake Louise. We take Mount Cook road with all its great vistas of the mountain.

We head to Twizel for a much needed rest. We are still adjusting to the time change from Bali.